If you’ve ever been asked whether you pay your own electricity bill or someone else’s, you might say you check your bills every month. If there is a slight increase, many people visit the company office to verify the charges. However, a man based in Vacaville, a town in United States, didn’t realise that he had been paying his neighbour’s bill for a staggering 18 years.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) customer Ken Wilson noticed that his electricity bills were rising, so he took measures to reduce his consumption. When those efforts failed to make an impact, he decided to investigate further.
He purchased a device to track his electricity usage and discovered that his meter continued to run even when his breaker was off. Wilson then contacted PG&E about the issue, prompting them to send a representative for inspection.
The electricity company confirmed that Wilson had been paying the bill for the apartment next to his “possibly since 2009”, which was three years after he moved in. “Our initial investigation found that the customer’s apartment meter number was being billed to another apartment, possibly since 2009,” a PG&E spokesperson stated.
Although Wilson found the revelation shocking, the positive aspect is that the company acknowledged its mistake and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
The statement also said, “We are committed to rectifying the situation with the customer.”
The company has urged other customers to verify their meter numbers to avoid similar problems.
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